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Jonathan Liebesman | |
|---|---|
 Liebesman at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2010 | |
| Born | 15 September 1976 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Occupation(s) | Film director and screenwriter |
| Years active | 2000-present |
| Notable work | Rings |
| Television | The Shannara Chronicles |
Jonathan Liebesman (born 15 September 1976) is a South African film director and writer.
Liebesman was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He studied filmmaking at the AFDA, The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance and at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He is Jewish. His cousin is director Dean Israelite. [1]
At Tisch, he co-wrote and directed an 8-minute short film, Genesis and Catastrophe , adapted from a Roald Dahl short story. The film was screened at numerous festivals around the world, and in 2000 won an award in the category of 'best short' at the Austin Film Festival. This earned Liebesman the "Hollywood Young Filmmaker Award" at the Hollywood Film Festival in 2000.
In 2002, he directed his debut feature Darkness Falls at the age of 26. Although the film suffered from generally weak reviews, it opened at no. 1 at the US box office. The film grossed over $32.5 million at the US box office, and a further $15 million worldwide. [2] The film was nominated for Best Horror/Thriller at the Teen Choice Awards in 2003, while the film's star, Emma Caulfield, won Face of the Future from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films that year.
Liebesman's next project, Rings (2005) (which he co-wrote with Ehren Kruger), was a 17-minute short that chronologically follows the events of the full-length feature, The Ring , and serves as a prequel to The Ring Two (2005). It provided an insightful transition between the two films and garnered high praise from fans of both feature-length films.[ citation needed ]
The film's success brought him to the attention of Michael Bay and his production company, Platinum Dunes, who hired him to direct The Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel titled The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning . [3]
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning opened in US theaters on 6 October 2006, and proved another box office hit for Liebesman. The $16 million movie opened at No 2 at the US box office with $18.5 million. As of 31 December 2006, the film had grossed around $50 million worldwide, including over $39.5 million in the US.
In 2007, it was initially announced that Liebesman would be the director of the Friday the 13th reboot [4] [5] but as of November 2007, Marcus Nispel, director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake of 2003, replaced Liebesman. [6]
In 2008, Liebesman completed directing his third full-length feature film, The Killing Room , a political thriller starring Chloë Sevigny, Nick Cannon, Timothy Hutton and Peter Stormare, about four people in a psychological study who discover they are subjects in a brutal and classified government program. The film debuted in the non-competition program at the Sundance Festival in January 2009. [7] [8]
In November 2008, Columbia Pictures announced that Liebesman would direct the science fiction film Battle: Los Angeles . The $70 million film – based on the story written by Chris Bertolini – revolved around a marine platoon's encounter in a battle against an alien invasion on the streets of Los Angeles. [9] The film opened at no. 1 at the US box office on 11 March 2011, and earned over $80 million at the US box office, and over $200 million globally. [10]
In early 2009, it was announced that Liebesman was attached to direct a new Warner Bros. film titled Odysseus , an epic based on Homer's Odyssey. [11]
In June 2010, Liebesman was named as the director of the sequel to Clash of the Titans , titled Wrath of the Titans , starring Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes, and Liam Neeson. [12] Principal photography began on 23 March 2011, with filming taking place in summer 2011 in studios outside London and on location in Surrey, South Wales and in the Canary Islands on the island of Tenerife. The film was released on 30 March 2012. Like its predecessor, the film was lambasted by critics and plans for a sequel, Revenge of the Titans never got off the ground.[ citation needed ]
In July 2011, it was announced that Warner Bros. and Liebesman would be collaborating on an upcoming biopic about Julius Caesar. [13]
In February 2012, Liebesman was brought in to direct the reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , beating Brett Ratner among others. [14] Filming began in March 2013 in Tupper Lake, New York. Production for the film wrapped on 3 August 2013, and the movie was released in August 2014. [15] The movie was a box office success, but received negative reviews from critics and the TMNT fan base alike.[ citation needed ] The film was nominated for five Golden Raspberry Awards in 2015 including Worst Director, while the film's star, Megan Fox, won Worst Supporting Actress.
In April 2019, Liebesman oversaw reshoots for Dolittle (2020) alongside writer Chris McKay and the film's director Stephen Gaghan; the reshoots moved the film's release from April 2019 to January 2020. [16]
In 2022 he directed the season 2 finale of the action series Halo . [17]
Short films
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Genesis and Catastrophe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also editor and post-production sound designer |
| 2005 | Rings | Yes | Yes | No | |
Feature films
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Darkness Falls | |
| 2006 | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning | |
| 2009 | The Killing Room | |
| 2011 | Battle: Los Angeles | |
| 2012 | Wrath of the Titans | |
| 2014 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director |
| 2020 | Dolittle | Director of reshoots (uncredited) and executive producer |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Shannara Chronicles | Yes | Yes | Episode "Chosen" (Part 1 & 2) |
| 2022 | Halo | Yes | No | 4 Episodes |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, sometimes abbreviated to TMNT, is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. Supporting characters include the turtles' sensei, a rat called Splinter, their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and enemies such as Baxter Stockman, Krang, and their archenemy, the Shredder.
New Line Productions, Inc., doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film and television production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Since 2008, it has been operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Erica Lei Leerhsen is an American actress. She first gained recognition for her leading part in the moderately successful horror sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000). Her work led her to take on a recurring role in the first season of The Guardian and star in the horror hit The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). She has since appeared in numerous films of that genre, including Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007), Lonely Joe (2009) and The Butterfly Room (2012). She has also acted in the Woody Allen films Hollywood Ending (2002), Anything Else (2003) and Magic in the Moonlight (2014) as well as in Allen's play A Second-Hand Memory (2004).
Marcus Nispel is a German film director and producer, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as an extensive career in television commercials and music videos.
Nickelodeon Movies is the film production arm of American children's network Nickelodeon and the family film distribution label of Paramount Pictures, launched on February 25, 1995 and serves as both either a production company or animation studio for its films.
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is a 1990 American slasher film directed by Jeff Burr and is the third installment of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. The film stars Kate Hodge, William Butler, Ken Foree, Tom Hudson, Viggo Mortensen, Joe Unger, and R.A. Mihailoff as Leatherface. The film follows Leatherface and his cannibalistic family stalking a motorist couple in the backroads of Texas.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel, written by Scott Kosar, and starring Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour, and R. Lee Ermey. Its plot follows a group of young adults traveling through rural Texas who encounter Leatherface and his murderous family. It is a remake of Tobe Hooper's 1974 film of the same name, and the fifth installment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. Several crew members of the original film were involved with the project: Hooper and writer Kim Henkel served as co-producers, Daniel Pearl returned as cinematographer, and John Larroquette reprised his voice narration for the opening intertitles.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is a 2006 American slasher film and a prequel to the 2003 film. The sixth installment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, it was written by Sheldon Turner from a story by Turner and David J. Schow, directed by Jonathan Liebesman and co-produced by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. The film's story takes place four years before its predecessor. It stars Jordana Brewster, Diora Baird, Taylor Handley, Matt Bomer and R. Lee Ermey.
TMNT is a 2007 computer-animated superhero film written and directed by Kevin Munroe. It is the fourth theatrical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film and a standalone sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993). The first animated film in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, it features an ensemble voice cast including Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mako, Kevin Smith, Patrick Stewart, and Ziyi Zhang with narration by Laurence Fishburne. In the film, after having grown apart following the final defeat of their arch-enemy, the Shredder, the four Turtles — Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo — are set to reunite and overcome their faults to save the world from evil ancient creatures.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an American horror franchise consisting of nine slasher films, comics, and a video game adaptation of the original film. The franchise focuses on the cannibalistic spree killer Leatherface and his family, who terrorize unsuspecting visitors to their territories in the desolate Texas countryside, typically killing and subsequently cooking them. The original film was released in 1974, directed and produced by Tobe Hooper and written by Hooper and Kim Henkel. Hooper and Henkel were involved in three of the later films.
Scott Kosar is an American screenwriter whose films include The Machinist, the 2003 remake of the classic horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror. In June 2006, he was presented with the Distinguished Achievement in Screenwriting Award by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Kosar was appointed the Hunter/Zakin screenwriting chair at UCLA for 2009–2010.
Friday the 13th is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel, written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift from a story by Shannon, Swift, and Mark Wheaton. It is a reboot and twelfth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise, which began in 1980. Nispel also directed the 2003 remake of Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), while Shannon and Swift wrote the screenplay for the crossover film Freddy vs. Jason. The film was produced by New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures, Platinum Dunes and Crystal Lake Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures domestically and Paramount Pictures internationally. It stars Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Aaron Yoo, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, and Derek Mears and follows Clay Miller (Padalecki) as he searches for his missing sister, Whitney (Righetti), who is captured by Jason Voorhees (Mears) while camping in woodland at Crystal Lake.
Platinum Dunes is an American film and television production company founded in 2001 by Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. It is mainly known for producing horror films, such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Purge, Ouija and A Quiet Place.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a superhero team created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, have appeared in six theatrical feature-length films since their debut. The first film was released in 1990, at the height of the franchise's popularity. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success that garnered two direct sequels, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, both of which were modest successes.
Bradley Fuller is an American film and television producer. He co-owns Platinum Dunes, partnering with both Michael Bay and Andrew Form.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2014 American superhero film directed by Jonathan Liebesman and written by Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, and Evan Daugherty. It is the fifth theatrical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, serving as a reboot of the series and the first in a duology of films. The film stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Danny Woodburn, Abby Elliott, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, and Alan Ritchson, with the voices of Johnny Knoxville and Tony Shalhoub. In the film, four mutated reptilian warriors rise from the sewers to join forces with fearless reporter April O'Neil to save New York City from the Shredder and his evil minions.
Andrew Form is an American film producer known for producing the films Friday the 13th, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Purge. He is the co-founder of company Platinum Dunes along with Michael Bay and Brad Fuller.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a 2016 American superhero film directed by Dave Green and written by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec. It is the sixth theatrical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, the sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), and the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film to be set in its continuity. The film stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Laura Linney, Stephen Amell, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Tyler Perry, Gary Anthony Williams, Brian Tee, and Sheamus. The film follows the Ninja Turtles who, after defeating the Shredder, must face an even bigger foe: the dreaded Krang.
Dave Green is an American film and music video director. He is well known for directing several music videos and short films, especially working with Miles Fisher. He made his directorial debut with the 2014 film Earth to Echo, and then directed the 2016 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. He is set to direct Coyote vs. Acme for Warner Bros.
Dean Israelite is a South African film director, writer, and producer, best known for directing the found footage film Project Almanac, the 2017 reboot of Power Rangers, and the 2019 reboot of Are You Afraid of the Dark.
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